Posts Tagged ‘articles’

from the official TMS Monte Carlo website
17 April 2003

Top seed and defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero survived another three-set thriller against Felix Mantilla to advance to the third round of Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo Wednesday. Ferrero remains unbeaten in six matches with Mantilla following his gritty 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over his countryman.

But the lopsided head-to-head record belies the evenness of their rivalry. All six matches have gone to three sets and three of the six have been decided by third-set tie-breaks, including both meetings last year.

Ferrero said: “It’s always difficult against him. Every time we played, we went to three sets, and every time the score of the third set was 7-6 or 7-5. He’s a very tough player on hard courts, but even more on clay courts. He’s a very complete player. “

“I had trouble winning points on my forehand. This is the area where I have to work. I don’t have much time to work on that before tomorrow, but I’ll try.”

A relaxing moment for the defending champion.

After his quarterfinal victory over countryman Alberto Martin, the Spaniard received some beauty advice at the “La Prairie” cosmetic stand . While discovering the different products, Ferrero also signed autographs for his many fans.

from sportinglife.com
12 April 2004

Juan Carlos Ferrero is confident Spain can brush aside France and move into the Davis Cup final after the Iberians’ hard-fought victory over Holland in the quarter-finals.

Spain defeated the Dutch 4-1, thanks largely to Ferrero’s marathon five-set victory against Martin Verkerk in Sunday’s singles match, a result that gave the home side an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie and set them on the way to a 4-1 triumph.

“I am happy with being drawn against France, and it is always good to play at home,” said Ferrero.

“However, we are determined not become over-confident.”

Ferrero had to draw on all his inner resolve to overcome a determined Verkerk, who eventually succumbed under the strain of having completed a five-set doubles victory hours earlier.

Ferrero had to fight far harder than when the pair met in last year’s French Open final before finally emerging with a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 4-6 7-5 6-1 victory.

“He played well, there’s no denying that,” said Ferrero after his win.

“It was a very even match, and I didn’t expect him to fall apart physically.

“I fought for every ball and I felt good. I always thought I would be able to get back into the game, and I did it with the help of the crowd.”

Spain face France, the 2001 Davis Cup winners, in September, with the clay courts of Alicante favourite to stage the semi-final tie.

from the official Davis Cup website
6 April 2003
Spain will look forward with complete confidence to a home clash with Argentina in the semifinals of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas after completing a 5-0 victory over Croatia on Sunday.
Albert Costa claimed the fourth point for Spain with a commanding 63 64 success against Ivan Ljubicic, and Alex Corretja made it 5-0 by beating Mario Ancic 75 63. “Argentina have a very strong team on clay,” Spanish captain Jordi Arrese said. “I think it’s going to be tough but we will be playing at home and that’s a huge advantage for us.”
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from Reuters
5 April 2003
VALENCIA, Spain, April 5 (Reuters) – Spanish captain Jordi Arrese believes that Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, Alex Corretja and Albert Costa together make up the strongest team the country has ever fielded in the Davis Cup.
“It’s the best Spanish team in history,” Arrese said after Corretja and Costa combined to beat Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic and Lovro Zovko 6-2 6-3 6-4 in the doubles on Saturday and give Spain a 3-0 winning lead in their World Group quarter-final.
“It’s just incredible. We can call on two leading singles players like Costa and Corretja to play doubles, as well as Ferrero and Moya for the singles. That means our players are all fresh for their matches.”
Spain won the Davis Cup for the first time in 2000, when Corretja, Ferrero and Costa were joined in the team by Juan Balcells.
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from Tennis Week by Richard Pagliaro
4 April 2003
Before a loud Spanish crowd, that stomped, screamed and shrieked it support in a constant chorus of cheers, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya gave Croatia the silent treatment today.
The singles standouts both scored opening day victories to stake Spain to a 2-0 lead over visiting Croatia in the best-of-five match Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Valencia Tennis Club in Valencia, Spain.
The third-ranked Ferrero started the day with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(1) triumph over Mario Ancic. Former French Open champion Moya followed by rallying from a one-set deficit to defeat Ivan Ljubicic 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
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